Doctor's appointments

I had a VERY embarrassing problem about 6 weeks ago Growstuff, and I just thought, sod it. And typed it all in the box, in all its disgusting, gory detail. TBH, if I had been on the receiving end of that email, I would have gagged. BUT I met the instruction given, so...

lemsip

I'v e thought I was lucky with my Gps surgery up to now, changed my mind after going online yesterday to request an appointment as I had a worrying attack of vertigo......the reply eventually was a phone appointment today which has resulted in a face to face appointment tomorrow......Point is that I don't recognise the names of the doctors who do the phone calls and am beginning to think the others known to me have jumped ship and disappeared......

Like others on here, I would be grateful to have a face to face appointment, regardless of the identity of the GP. Any such doctor would be qualified and have access to your records, presumably. We have lost several medical professionals due to Brexit and the uncertainty generated by the handling of settled status cases.

GagaJo

I am one of the rare ones that actually likes the online system my GP surgery uses. I LOVE that I can be detailed in my description of what is wrong and don't have to spend ages trying to get through on the phone.

I know I'm lucky in that I CAN have a face to face appointment if I need one, although again, I prefer not to, if possible. I'm trying to limit contact with others (covid).

I think it depends what's wrong with you.

I've just changed my GP because I was so fed up with being fobbed off and have a face to face appointment for new patients booked in two weeks. It will be with the practice nurse, but she's going to have to refer me to a doctor, so I'm crossing my fingers.

I am one of the rare ones that actually likes the online system my GP surgery uses. I LOVE that I can be detailed in my description of what is wrong and don't have to spend ages trying to get through on the phone.

I know I'm lucky in that I CAN have a face to face appointment if I need one, although again, I prefer not to, if possible. I'm trying to limit contact with others (covid).

During the pandemic, I realized that the GP surgery systems were not tallying up. The text received gave a different message to the telephone message whenever I rang up. Then when I followed the instructions to book online, those instructions were different as well! I gave up in the end.

Back in 2018, I remember not being able to get through to my GP surgery, no matter what time of day I called. I even took a day off work, hoping to get through. In the end, I looked up their email address and explained that I'm having difficulty getting through on the phone (I highlighted the times tried). The reply I received was "We cannot make appointments via email" and I must ring the number that I couldn't get through on.

Three years on... Look at what they're requesting all patients to do. Book online!

I've been looking after my own health - Googling and watching YouTube as there's lots of Doctors who have resorted to educating patients in rather than face to face.

That's a very good point.
I must thank the receptionists at my docs, too.

I recently had to contact my doctors surgery several times, to get appointments, check that referrals to hospital had been made, query prescription etc. On each occasion I was treated with respect and care by the receptionists who answered my questions and checked information on my records. The last time, a very nice man was very reassuring about a change of dosage on a prescription, he was able to confirm it was not a mistake but was linked to a follow up letter from a hospital consultant which I had not read thoroughly.

I took the trouble to thank him and asked him to pass on my appreciation to the rest of the team. He was quite taken aback and emotional that I had bothered to thank him, I guess it made a change from the abuse he must get by disgruntled patients.

If someone goes out of their way to help me, I try to thank them rather than take it for granted.

It's not a well paid job, either, as far as I know.

It must be difficult to go into work knowing that you’ll be abused every day.

Yes indeed, how horrible.

It must be difficult to go into work knowing that you'll be abused every day.
Saying that, the receptionists at my doctors have the good grace to sound very sorry and soothing when there are no appointments, which goes a long way to calm people down.
The receptionists at my neighbous surgery stop just short of being downright rude.

the receptionist should not be posting about her job on facebook.........she should complain to her surgery manager.

A receptionist from our surgery posted on the local FB page yesterday. She complained bitterly about the abuse she gets when refusing patients an appointment. She said all the people in her office get abuse, both face to face and on the phone. She said she often goes home and cries and dreads going to work the next day. She went on to ask why patients are so rude and are unable to understand that she is only doing her job. Responses varied but one made the very valid point that if she and her colleagues are suffering that much abuse they should question if the customer care policies put in place by their managers are the correct ones. Excellent advice, I thought. I hope she takes it.

I'v e thought I was lucky with my Gps surgery up to now, changed my mind after going online yesterday to request an appointment as I had a worrying attack of vertigo......the reply eventually was a phone appointment today which has resulted in a face to face appointment tomorrow......Point is that I don't recognise the names of the doctors who do the phone calls and am beginning to think the others known to me have jumped ship and disappeared......

We watched a recording of the program, 'Dispatches' on Channel 4 last night and found it very enlightening. It answered many questions for me and am sure it'll do the same for many others.

The title is:- Clapped Out: Is the NHS Broken? And here is the link if anyone's interested:- www.channel4.com/programmes/clapped-out-is-the-nhs-broken-dispatches

As far as surgeries are concerned, I read the following and believe surgeries should not be businesses as most of them seem to be.

www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/gp-funding-and-contracts-explained

Just been watching the Jeremy Vine programme. Dr Sarah Jarvis was on telling us how it is with GPs. She said we were promised 5000 more GPs a few years ago, but in actual fact we now have more than 2000 fewer GPs. I mentioned up thread about the unfulfilled promise of 5000 more GPs. How anyone can expect the same service from fewer GPs is beyond me. Nonetheless the GPs are doing their best to provide the kind of service that we and they want. Under these circumstances it’s amazing that they manage to do that.

Fortunate here too Chardy my son rang at 12:30 Monday, phone call at 3, face to face appointment at 4:50. It really does seem to be where you are.

Phoned surgery at 8am to get appointment to discuss medication, dr rang at 11am.
My local surgery has taken over another as they couldn't get any GPs when the 2 existing ones retired, and is itself understaffed.
Amazing service.

Google translate is free to use not that I'd know how.
I've always thought the admin side of the nhs leaves a lot to be desired.

Talking of a waste of NHS England resources MissA ... we were chatting to my stepfather over lunch who is in his 90th year. Lovely man.

He said that he’d had a letter, reminding him to get his covid jab and if he’d not had it (he had) to ring 119 to arrange it. What stunned him was the fact that the message was in 31 bluddy languages! 31. It covered 3 double sided sheets of A4 paper. As he said, what bluddy nonsense is this? No other country wastes money in this way. I said he was right. In Spain a letter would be in Spanish only & if you don’t understand it the onus is on the recipient to get it bluddy translated! We waste so much money in this country being ‘inclusive’. Costs a fortune.

I'm having the "not on your records" issue as we speak.
As a result, I will be having a scan next week which i have already had, and been told the results, and been in hospital with problems arising from the issue that was found the first time around.

What a waste of resources.

Candelle

*growstuff*, I was going to suggest you contact 'diabetes.org.uk' or 111 if your pain is ongoing and you can't obtain an appointment at your GP.

Perhaps you have a 'walk in' centre near you? If you really can't obtain help I think I would (reluctantly) consider taking this route.

I wish you better.

1 What do you think diabetes.org.uk would/could do?

2 There is't a walk in centre in this area.

MOnica There is no way in the world I would burden A & E with something which isn't an emergency.

I've had the pain for over three years and a GP had already started investigating before she left. It's as though there is nothing on my records about the previous appointments because GPs don't follow the same pathway. It's getting worse and is more worrying, but isn't an emergency.

No, private healthcare isn't an option for me. £100 is more than I have "spare" in months.

I've lost my faith in GPs and their surgeries too! It's simply not good enough for so many of us. I have had and have some health issues and every time dreaded calling them. You're ill and yet they put you through hell for asking for an appointment if you are lucky to get one when you actually need it. Just not good enough for public health and general wellbeing. This is not a charity but paid for by us for all of us. Too many stroppy receptionists, doctors and nurses taking out their frustrations on the patients, expecting us to understand their plight and frustrations while totally overlooking their own lack of empathy, understand and frustrations of all those ill people in need of their expertise. They make me feel like a nuisance when I ask them for help, something that I'm entitled to and have paid for in advance for decades. Now that I need it, I have to go through hell and humiliation of begging to get an appointment! And then I'm expected to feel lucky for having got it, appreciate my surgery and be so grateful to them too. Ill and worried people should not be made feel anxious or a burden to call their surgeries but feel a sense of comfort that the surgery would help them.

growstuff I agree with *Pammie1. Ring 111, or just got to A&E and tell them why you are there.

When my daughter was ill and we had to take her to A&E, the hospital also had a 24 hour emergency GP service running alongside A&E and she was told to use that. This GP, although not her own, was able to order tests and scans and managed to contact her GP and explain what had happened.

The other possibility is thats most private hospitals are now offering private GP consultations. DD had a leaflet about her local one through her door. The cost was £100 for a 30 minute consultation.

growstuff, I was going to suggest you contact 'diabetes.org.uk' or 111 if your pain is ongoing and you can't obtain an appointment at your GP.

Perhaps you have a 'walk in' centre near you? If you really can't obtain help I think I would (reluctantly) consider taking this route.

I wish you better.